ARLINGTON — Putting in Peyton Manning-like time hasn't been a problem for Tony Romo. He's always worked harder at his craft than most people think.

And his commitment to protecting the ball after tying for the NFL lead in interceptions last season with 19? No worries there, either.

So why aren't the Cowboys racking up points and wins?

There's more than one reason, but this one has to be near the top: They've yet to learn how to fully use their most dangerous weapon, Dez Bryant.

For years, Romo has been bashed for committing costly turnovers. But through four games this season, he has completed 72.4 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns and just one interception. At this point in 2012, he had five TDs and eight picks.

As a result of improved ball security and Bill Callahan's dink-and-dunk passing game, Romo's passer rating of 105.1 ties him with Aaron Rodgers for third in the NFL.

All that would be great if Dallas could match the 4-0 record of the Denver Broncos, who invade AT&T Stadium on Sunday. But the Cowboys are 2-2 with Romo playing it safe, and his yards-per-attempt average is a career-low 6.7 after he entered the season with a norm of 7.9 yards.

That's unacceptable with Bryant on the roster.

Jason Garrett knows this, and he said as much last week when asked why the Cowboys back off from throwing the ball to Bryant when he's double-teamed.

“We feel good about the other options when they try to take something away from us, but Dez is the kind of player you have to make sure gets the ball,” Garrett said. “He's dynamic. He can make difference-making plays.”

But getting the ball to Bryant in double coverage would require Romo to take more risks. And wouldn't that lead to more turnovers?

“I don't know that I buy that,” Garrett said. “You can make big plays without turning the ball over. Tony has demonstrated that over his career.”

Romo said he's more than willing to throw downfield, provided the coverage gives him the opportunity. This season, he has only seven attempts of more than 20 yards and just three completions of 25 or more yards.

“Believe me, if there are shots down the field, I've never been accused of not taking them,” Romo said. “More than anything, you're just going to go through the progressions and see what the defense is giving you.”

Understood. But there are certain players around the league who can go get the ball even with defenders draped all over them. Calvin Johnson does it. So does Larry Fitzgerald. Even at age 37, Tony Gonzalez excels at it.

Bryant is confident he belongs in that category as well.

“I got to grab the ball, man,” he said. “I'm going to get it. I honestly feel like I will.”

Bryant has four TDs this season, placing him in a tie for fourth in the league among receivers. But what if Dallas had gone to him rather than the three times Romo targeted rookie Terrance Williams in the red zone? Bad things happened on all of those attempts.

If going to Bryant means more turnovers, so be it. The reward outweighs the risk.

After three years as a part-time employee covering mainly high school sports, Tom Orsborn became a full-time employee at the Express-News in October 1985. He's covered the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL since 1999 and has also covered the Spurs, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and a variety of other events, including 14 Super Bowls.